Carrying device



B. M. VERLIN CARRYING DEVICE Nov. l, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed OCT.. 30, 1950 FIGS.

"Ilflmun I IN VEN TOR.

IBERNHRD ,MNERIJN L ATTORNEY B. M. VERLIN CARRYING DEVICE Nov. 1, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 30. 1950 maar?.

United States Patent Office 2,722,367 Patented Nov. 1, 1955 CARRYING DEVICE Bernard M. Vel-lin, Drexel Hill, Pa.

Application October 30, 1950, Serial No. 192,978

12 Claims. (Cl. 229-54) This invention relates to a carrying device, and more particularly it is concerned with that type of bag known as a carrying bag.

Carrying bags of various kinds are known in the prior art, but in use they are subject t one or more disadvantages. For example, in those types of carrying bags where the handle is formed from and is integral with the same blank as is used to form the bag, special dies are required to form the more or less complex blanks required for manufacture and assembly of the finished bag. Another disadvantage resides in the multiple folding required to form the handle of such bags after the bag has been loaded, and the effective carrying capacity of the bag is reduced. Finally, unless special reinforcing means are employed in their construction, the locking portion and handles of such bags are weak and subject to tearing.

It is an object of this invention to provide a carrying bag having increased carrying capacity and strength.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a carrying bag requiring no folding to form the handle portion thereof.

It is another object of this invention to provide a carrying bag having little or no stress on the locking portion thereof.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a carrying bag which can be made from any standard paper bag after the bag has been completed, and without the necessity of using special blanks to form the bag.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description.

These objects are accomplished by the present invention wherein there is provided in a bag having front and back walls a pair of opposing handle members attached to said walls at the mouth of the bag and having opposing finger openings; a holding member is integrally attached to one of said handle members, and a locking member is integrally attached to the other of said handle members and is adapted to pass through the finger openings in the handle members and engage the holding member in locking relationship.

The invention will be better understood from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: v

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bag showing the irnproved carrying and locking means of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a portion of the bagof Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of a portion of the bag of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a portion of the bag of Fig. 1 showing the locking and holding means in locked relationship;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 5 5 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 6 6 of Fig. 4 in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of a modification of'the carrying and locking means; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of another modification of the carrying and locking means.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates generally any conventional bag having front and back walls. The bag itself can be of the flat envelope type, bellows type or of any conventional type manufactured in any manner known to the art.

As shown in Fig. 1, at the mouth of the bag 10 and attached respectively to the front and back walls thereof in the plane of the walls are a pair of relatively narrow strips 11 and 12. Each strip is preferably coextensive in length with the width of the bag at its mouth. In a bellows type bag, the strips may be made coextensive in length with the entire width of the bag, including the bellows; or the strips may be made coextensive in length only with that portion of the mouth of the bag not included in the bellows. Although the strips can be made of paper of the same strength as that of the bag, it is preferred to employ strips of material of substantially greater strength than the material of the bag, such as a heavier paper stock, cardboard, resin impregnated fabric and the like. The strips are secured to the walls of the bag in any suitable manner, such as by meansof adhesives, stitches, staples or the like.

Extending upwardly from each of the strips 11 and 12, and formed integrally therewith, are a pair of arcuate handle members 13 and 14, respectively. As shown in the drawings the handle members have a common vertical axis with the bag 10 and are provided with finger openings in registering relationship with each other to allow the fingers to pass therethrough when the bag is being carried.

Depending from the lower edge of the strip 11 and formed integrally therewith is a female holding member adapted to hold in locking relationship in a male locking member hereinafter described. As shown, the female holding member is formed of two spaced tabs 15 and 16, forming with the strip 11 an inverted U, the center of the U having the same vertical axis as the handle 13. Although the strip 11 is secured to the wall of the bag, the tabs 15 and 16 are not so secured and can be lifted from their normal contact with the wall of the bag to allow them to hold the locking member. However, if desired, the tabs 15 and 16 can be secured to the wall of the bag at one or more of their outer edges, shown at 17, 18, 19 and 20 in Figure l, thereby preventing any adventitious engagement and tearing of the tabs 1S and 16 by extraneous objects, while leaving the inner edges 21 and 22 free from the wall of the bag to permit the tabs to engage and hold the locking member.

Formed integrally with the strip 12 and extending upwardly from the upper edge thereof in the same general direction as the handle member 14 is a male locking member adapted to engage the described female holding member in locking relationship. As shown, the male locking member is preferably a T-shaped tab 23 having the same vertical axis as the handle member 14. At the junction of the T-shaped tab 23 and the strip 12, there is preferably provided a crease or score line 24 permitting easy folding of the tab 23 through the nger openings in handle members 13 and 14. When the tab 23 is folded and passed through the finger openings, the arms of the T are slipped under the tabs 15 and 16 thereby securely locking the mouth of the bag, as shown in Figs. 4 and `6.

Fig. 7 shows a modification of the carrying and locking device shown in Fig. l. As shown in Fig. 7, the strip member is formed of a unitary rectangular strip 25 instead of the pair of strips 11 and 12 of Fig. l. The strip 25 is preferably substantially coextensive in length with the perimeter of the bag 10 at its mouth. The handle member 13 is identical with that shown in Fig. 1

and is preferably disposed centrally of one half of the strip 25. Similarly, handle member 14 is preferably disposed centrally of the other half of the strip 25. The female holding member, formed of spaced depending tabs and 16, is identical with that `of' Fig. 1 and is disposed on the strip in the same relation to the strip and handle 13 as shown and described in Fig. l. Similarly, the male locking member, formed .of T-shaped tab 23, is identical with that of Fig. l and is disposed on the strip 25 in the same relation to the strip and handle 14 as shown and described in Fig. 1. Midway of its length, the strip 25 is provided with a crease or score line 26 to permit of easy folding of the strip for its attachment to the mouth of the bag. When so folded, one half of the strip 25 carrying the handle 13 and 'the female holding tabs 15 Vand 1 6 is attached to one wall of the bag, and the other half ofthe strip 25 carrying the handle 14 and the male locking member 23 is attached to the other wall of the bag.

Fig. 8 shows still another modification of the Carrying and ,locking device. In this modification, the strip member is formed of an endless strip 27 instead of the pair of strips 11 and 12 of Fig. 1. The endless strip 27 is substantially coextensive with the perimeter of the bag at its mouth to permit of its fitting closely with the mouth .of the bag when attached thereto. The device shown in this modification can be formed by flattening a tube of suitable paper stock and stamping or punching it to form the carrying and locking members, which are thus duplicated on both sides of the flattened tube. As shown in Fig. 8, this will result in an endless strip 27, having handle members 13 and 14 disposed on opposite sides thereof. Accompanying the handle members and disposed in the same relation thereto and to the strip 27 as shown and described in Fig. 1 are the female holding tabs 15 and 16 and the male locking T-shaped tab 23. As shown in Fig. 8, both the holding and locking tabs are duplicated on opposite sides of the strip 27. When the carrying and locking device shown in Fig. 8 is to be attached to the mouth vof a bag, the T-shaped tab 23 adjacent to handle 13 and the holding tabs 15 and 16 adjacent to handle 14 can be removed or cut off. Alternatively, only the T-shaped tab 23 adjacent one `of the handles need be removed since the duplicate set of holding tabs remaining will not interfere in the locking of the bag. Obviously when opposing holding and locking tabs are removed and the endless strip 27 is cut midway between the handle assemblies, the modification of Fig. 7 is obtained. If the strip is then cut again in half, the modification of Fig. 1 is obtained.

It will be observed from the foregoing that this invention provides a carrying bag reinforced substantially completely across its mouth where tearing would otherwise most likely occur. The load carrying capacity of any conventional bag is thereby advantageously increased, since the load is distributed across the entire width of the bag. Furthermore, since the entire handle and lockingn assembly is on the outside of the bag, a greater area for packaging is provided as compared to prior art bags requiring folding of the mouth of the bag on itself to form a handle. The multiple foldings of the prior art are obviated by this invention; all that is required is a simple single folding of the locking tab and its engagement with the holding tabs. There is thus obtained a simplicity and ease of operation not available in prior art bags of this type, so that contrary to the prior art an ordinary customer will have no diiiiculty in closing and locking the bag of this invention after it has been opened by him. No substantial stress is imposed on Vthe locking means of the invention and such stress as is present tends to insure a tighter closing.

This invention also presents advantages from the manufacturers standpoint. First, it may be applied ,to any type of conventional preformed bag. The special and `complicated dies and blanks required to form the carrying bags of the prior art are therefore unnecessary. Since vthe locking assembly is integral with the strips and handle members themselves, the entire carrying and closure assembly can be stamped out in a single piece. Economies in manufacture and assembly of the finished bag are therefore readily achieved.

Resort may be had to such modifications and variations as fall within the spirit `of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a bag having front and back walls, strip means attached to the walls of the bag in the plane of the walls at the mouth of the bag and substantially coextensive with lthe perimeter of the bag at its r mouth, opposing handle members formed integrally with said strip means and extending upwardly therefrom, said handle members being provided with registering finger openings, a pair of spaced tabs formed integrally with said strip means, depending therefrom in opposed relationship to one of the handle members and forming an inverted U with the lower edge of said strip means, and a substantially T-shaped tab formed integrally with and extending upwardly from said strip means in the same direction as the other Vhandle member, said T-shaped tab being adapted to be folded over to pass through said finger openings and engage the depending tabs in locking relationship.

2. The bag of claim 1, wherein the T-shaped tab is provided `with a score line at its junction with said strip means.

3. The bag of claim 1, wherein the strip means is formed of a pair of rectangular strips each attached respectively to the front and back walls of the bag and extending substantially the width of the bag, said pair of spaced tabs being formed integrally with one of said strips, and said T-shaped tab being formed integrally with the other of said strips.

4. The bag of claim l, wherein the strip means is formed of .an endless strip, one of said handles and said pair of tabs being disposed on one side of said strip, and the other of said handles and said T-shaped tab being disposed on the other side of said strip opposite to said rst named handle and pair of tabs.

5. The bag of claim l, wherein the strip means is formed of a unitary rectangular strip substantially coextensive in length with the perimeter of the bag at its mouth, one of said handles and said pair of spaced tabs being disposed centrally of one half of said unitary strip, .and the other of said handles and said T-shaped tab being disposed centrally of the other half of said unitary strip.

6. The bag oficlaim 5, wherein said unitary strip is providedwith a scoreline midway of its length.

V7. In a bag 'having front and back walls, a pair of strips of material of greater strength than the `material of said bag each ,attached respectively to said front and back walls in .theplane of the walls at the mouth of the 'bag and extending substantially the width of the bag, handle members formed integrally with said strips extending upwardly therefrom and having a common vertical axis with the bag, said handle members being provided with registering iinger openings, a pair of spaced tabs formed integrally with one of said strips and form- .ing an inverted U with the lower edge of said strip, said tabs depending from said strip in opposed relationship to and having Ya common vertical axis with the handle vmember attached to said strips, a substantially T-shaped tab formed integrally with and extending upwardly from the .other of said strips in the same general direction as and having a common vertical axis with the handle member attached to Vsaid strip, and a crease line at the junction of said T-shaped tab and said other 4strip whereby the T-shaped tab may be folded lover to pass through said finger openings and engage said depending tabs in locking relationship.

8. A device adapted for attachment to the mouth of a bag having front and back walls to serve as a carrying and locking means therefor comprising strip means, handle members formed integrally with said strip means and extending upwardly therefrom, said handle members being provided with registering inger openings, a pair of spaced tabs formed integrally with said strip means, depending therefrom in opposed relationship to one 0f the handle members and forming an inverted U with the lower edge of said strip means, and a substantially T-shaped tab formed integrally with and extending upwardly from said strip means in the same direction as the other handle member, said T-shaped tab being adapted to be folded over to pass through said nger openings and engage the depending tabs in locking relationship.

9. The device of claim `t3, wherein the strip means is formed of an endless strip, one of said handles and said pair of tabs being disposed on one side of said strip, and the other of said handles and said T-shaped tab being disposed on the other side of said strip opposite to said first named handle and pair of tabs.

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the strip means is formed of a unitary rectangular strip, one of said handles and said pair of spaced tabs being disposed centrally of one half of said unitary strip, and the other of said handles and said T-shaped tab being disposed centrally of the other half of said strip.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the T-shaped i and locking means therefor comprising an endless strip, opposing handle members formed integrally with said strip and extending upwardly therefrom, said handle members being provided with registering finger openings, two pairs of spaced tabs formed integrally with said strip, each pair depending from said strip in opposed relationship to a handle member and forming an inverted U with the lower edge of said strip, and two substantially T-shaped tabs formed integrally with and extending upwardly from said strip in the same direction as said handle members.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,210,952 Krueger `lan. 2, 1917 1,296,760 Bueschel Mar. 1l, 1919 1,299,503 Pente Apr. 8, 1919 1,305,199 Deubener May 27, 1919 1,699,942 Appelbaum Jan. 22, 1929 1,718,298 Markman June 25, 1929 1,731,007 Graienberger Oct, 8, 1929 2,234,180 Lackey et al. Mar. 11, 1941 2,341,762 Conklin Feb. 15, 1944 2,458,173 Kardon Jan. 4, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 563,235 Germany Nov. 3, 1932 771,636 France July 30, 1934 772,021 France Aug. 6, 1934 487,996 Great Britain lune 29, 1938 

